Patriarchy In Dracula

Feminism, a controversial topic, is defined as the belief that women should have equal rights and opportunities as men. Throughout history, the dominance of the male gender, otherwise known as patriarchy, exists. Male dominance is particularly present in many works of literature during the Victorian . Dracula, by Bram Stoker, is a patriarchal novel due to the use of Dracula being the dominant figure, the distinction of “good” vs “bad” women, and how the women are weaker overall.

Dracula, the male figure in this novel, has all the power and is dominant. The count, being the only one that can create more of his kind, transforms Mina and Lucy into vampires. Although Lucy and Dracula’s three brides feed on the blood of children “...saw the wounds

Lucy and Dracula’s three brides represent the “bad” women due to their sexual desires. Lucy was one of the Count’s victim due to her weakness, sleepwalking. “She (Lucy) was bitten by the vampire when she was in a trance, sleep-walking…” (Stoker 172). Her fate could have been a result of her sexual desires, in which she indicated by wanting to marry all three men that proposed instead of one. “Why can't they let a girl marry three men, or as many as want her…” (Stoker 50). However, during the Victorian era (and today), women were subjected to be dedicated to one man only, and the thought of any more would be considered immoral. A critique argued that, “A woman...is better dead than sexual” (Craft 88). Children were also important in the Victorian era. Lucy’s transformation from an innocent and beautiful girl to a child-harming monster shows how looked down upon women who were disloyal to their husbands

Mina displays as a different kind of woman. She states that she has been “working very hard lately...to keep up with Jonathan’s studies” (Stoker 46). As an assistant school mistress, Bram Stoker shows that she is not the stereotypical woman in the Victorian era. Women during this period of time were expected to stay at home all day to cook, clean, and take care of their children, while men were the ones who typically had occupations. Men were also considered to be smarter than women. “Male intelligence was greater than female, men had greater independence and courage than women, and men were able to expend energy in sustained bursts of physical or cerebral activity.” (Geddes 53). However, Stoker proves Mina to be intelligent because of her ability of using a stenograph, typewriter, shorthanding, and being able to memorize train schedules. In addition, Van Helsing states that she has a man’s brain “Ah, that wonderful Madam Mina! She has man’s brain, a brain that a man should have were he much gifted, and a woman’s heart.” (Stoker 201). This show that her mind is different and more complex, to the point where she reaches the level of a man’s intelligence. Through Mina’s character, Stoker implies that futuristic women can be seen as more than just maternal figures, suggesting progressive ideas toward